Arriving at the mall, Su Ding spent some time with the two children in the arcade before finding the GK formal wear store on the fourth floor.
The sales associate did not appear very enthusiastic upon seeing Su Ding.
"Is there anything I can help you with?" the associate asked listlessly, glancing dismissively at Jin Xiaoxi and Tang Tang nearby.
"I'll just take a look at your dresses first. I'll call you if I need anything."
Su Ding nodded slightly and walked into the store.
She slowly surveyed the dresses displayed on the racks, while also keeping an eye on the two children not far away.
Ultimately, she selected two dresses.
"Hello, I'd like to try these two on. Could you please find my size?"
As Su Ding finished speaking, the associate was about to retrieve the dresses when her peripheral vision caught two girls who had just entered. Her eyes immediately lit up.
"Miss Yiyi, Miss Miaomiao, what esteemed guests you are~"
Su Ding heard the names and looked over, her expression instantly darkening.
Fate truly had a way of bringing enemies together.
"Su Ding, how is it you again? What qualifies you to buy GK dresses!"
Jin Miaomiao cursed as soon as she saw Su Ding, while Tang Yiyi's gaze also turned icy for a moment.
"Yiyi, what are you doing?" Tang Yiyi approached with a gentle smile, signaling the sales associate. "You don't need to worry about us for now. Please help that lady find a dress in her size."
The associate quickly replied, "Certainly, I'll go right away."
Jin Miaomiao's face contorted with disgust as she stared at Su Ding, "Shameless!"
She had already heard from Yiyi that Su Ding had secretly gone to her house again last night looking for her cousin. It was utterly despicable!
Su Ding's face turned cold as she looked at her. "Shut your foul mouth!"
Jin Miaomiao raised her hand to slap her, but Tang Yiyi quickly intervened, smiling apologetically at Su Ding. "I'm sorry, Miaomiao is a bit impulsive."
"Hmph, for Yiyi's sake, I won't touch you today," Jin Miaomiao pouted.
The sales associate then brought over the dresses. "Here are the two."
As Su Ding was about to take them, Tang Yiyi leaned forward. "Sister Su Ding has great taste. These two dresses really suit your complexion."
Su Ding felt that Tang Yiyi's words were rather veiled and responded with a lukewarm "mm."
Su Ding took the dresses to the fitting room, not forgetting to call out to the two children who had crawled into a corner of the store, "Xiaoxi, Tangtang, come out."
Jin Xiaoxi and Tangtang heard the commotion and immediately ran over.
"Xiaoxi?"
"Tangsha?"
Jin Miaomiao and Tang Yiyi exclaimed in unison.
Jin Xiaoxi paid little attention to his aunt and pulled Tangtang towards Su Ding. When Tangtang saw Tang Yiyi clearly, her body trembled, and she hid behind Su Ding.
Su Ding sensed something was amiss with Tangtang and frowned as she looked at Tang Yiyi.
"Do you know Tangtang?" she asked.
Tang Yiyi forcefully suppressed the disgust in her heart and broke into a smile. "Ah, I didn't expect Xiao Ran to be here."
As she spoke, she walked towards Tangtang. "Xiao Ran, don't you know your family has been looking for you?"
Tangtang shrank back further, shaking her head, fear evident in her eyes.
Su Ding frowned and instinctively shielded Tangtang. "Who are you to Tangtang?"
"Sister Su Ding, this is my sister," Tang Yiyi said with a smile. Seeing that Tangtang ignored her, she didn't seem to mind and softly explained, "Her mind isn't quite right."
Jin Xiaoxi heard this and became furious, rushing forward. "You're the one whose mind isn't right!"
Tangtang looked at Xiaoxi, bewildered, her expression blank.
Su Ding held Xiaoxi back and said to Tang Yiyi, "Miss Tang, you said your family was looking for her?"
Tang Yiyi nodded. "Yes, we just couldn't find her."
Su Ding also felt a pang of anger; what a shallow view of family. Tang Yiyi clearly looked down on her own sister.
"What's all this questioning? If you like this fool, then take her home,"
Jin Miaomiao sneered, looking at Su Ding disdainfully.
Su Ding ignored her and addressed the two children. "Mommy is going to try on clothes. We'll go home when I'm done."
"Sister Su Ding, I'll help you."
Tang Yiyi eagerly hurried forward, helping to pull aside the curtain. While Su Ding wasn't paying attention, she secretly wedged a small object into a corner of the wall.
Su Ding frowned at it before carrying the dresses inside. "Thank you."
She entered the fitting room, took off her original clothes, and put on the new dresses.
However, to her surprise, both dresses were a size too small.
She could squeeze into them, but her chest was constricted, and the buttons at the back couldn't be fastened.
In the end, she had to take them off and change back into her own clothes.
As soon as she opened the curtain, the sales associate snatched the dresses, secretly broke off a button, and acted as if nothing had happened. "Miss, why didn't you wear them?"
Su Ding said calmly, "The sizes were too small."
The sales associate deliberately spread out the dress and suddenly exclaimed, "Oh my, how did you stretch out the button?"
Su Ding looked over; indeed, the button had come undone and was about to fall off.
"I didn't even fasten it,"
she explained, but the associate was relentless. "You must have stretched it out because you were too fat. Both of them! You ruined our store's clothes and now you want to pretend nothing happened?"
Su Ding frowned. "But I really didn't fasten it."
"Still trying to wriggle out of it? The clothes were fine when we took them in, how did they get damaged after you tried them on?"
The sales associate yelled loudly, "These two dresses, one is eighteen thousand, the other is twenty-six thousand. You have to pay for them! Our store's clothes are not from street stalls."
"Su Ding, if you can't afford them, don't come here. You ruined someone's clothes and now you're refusing to take responsibility."
Jin Miaomiao, holding a cup of water, sipped it as she chimed in.
Su Ding recalled the process and was certain that the buttons were intact when she handed the dresses over.
Only after they passed through the sales associate's hands...
Her face turned cold as she looked at the associate. "You tampered with them! You're framing me!"
Before the associate could speak, Jin Miaomiao started shouting, "Su Ding, you're really twisting facts. Clearly, the button broke after you wore the dress, and now you're blaming the store. Have you no shame!"
"Don't you dare slander my mother!" Jin Xiaoxi shouted fiercely at Jin Miaomiao.
Jin Miaomiao said coolly, "Calling someone like her 'Mom' when she's of such low quality, aren't you afraid of losing face? Tch!"
"I'll tell Great-Grandpa when I get back that you're always bullying people outside!"
Jin Xiaoxi knew her weakness and shouted in anger.
Jin Miaomiao's expression changed. Seeing Xiaoxi glaring at her, and remembering how Xiaoxi had respected her before, she instantly became enraged.
If it weren't for Su Ding fanning the flames, why would her nephew be treating her like this!
She brought her cup forward and splashed it towards Su Ding's face—
"Mom!"
Su Ding hadn't expected her to make a move and was splashed in the face, her clothes soaked.
She awkwardly raised her arm to wipe the water from her face and, without a word, rushed forward to grab the madwoman Jin Miaomiao to hit her.
Before she could even get close, she was pushed away by a force!
"Ah!"
Jin Miaomiao was sent flying a considerable distance, her body hitting a clothing rack, causing clothes to cascade down on her.
She cried out in pain, unable to stand, her tailbone seemingly broken.
Tears streamed down her face as she sobbed, "It hurts so much..."
All of this happened in an instant.
Su Ding steadied herself and looked closely, only to realize that it was Tangtang who had rushed out and pushed Jin Miaomiao away.
Su Ding was stunned, and Jin Xiaoxi's mouth fell open.
A child of six or seven had managed to throw an adult several meters away...